Talk Wisdom's goal is to defend the tenets and values of Biblical Christian faith. We defend our Constitutional Republic and Charters of Freedom, especially when speaking out against destructive social and political issues. As followers of our Savior and Lord, we should boldly stand up for Jesus Christ in our present circumstances. He is our Savior, Lord, and King, and His love needs to be shed abroad in our hearts and in our world – now.

I don’t know where to go from here
It all used to seem so clear
I’m finding I can’t do this on my own

I don’t know where to go from here
As long as I know that You are near
I’m done fighting
I’m finally letting go

I will trust in You
You’ve never failed before
I will trust in You

[Chorus:]
If there’s a road I should walk
Help me find it
If I need to be still
Give me peace for the moment
Whatever Your will
Whatever Your will
Can you help me find it
Can you help me find it

I’m giving You fear and You give faith
I’m giving you doubt
You give me grace
For every step I’ve never been alone

Even when it hurts, You’ll have Your way
Even in the valley I will say
With every breath
You’ve never let me go

I will wait for You
You’ve never failed before
I will wait for You

[Chorus]

I lift my empty hands (come fill me up again)
Have Your way my King (I give my all to You)
I lift my eyes again (Was blind but now I see)
‘Cause You are all I need

[Chorus]

*******
In a book entitled, “Mastering Your Life Before It’s Too Late,” Robert J. Morgan shares a plan that will help any reader to develop lifelong habits for a lifetime of purposeful living. The first two habits to cultivate are:

1. Listen to a twelve-year-old.

The first recorded statement of Jesus was made when He was twelve, “I must be about my Father’s business.” When we open each day with this mindset, we will accomplish the work God has preplanned for us.

2. Redeem the time.

If we lose a thousand dollars, we can replace it; but if we waste a thousand hours, they are gone forever. Redeem the time.

Bible verses on these two habits:

1. Listen to a twelve-year-old.

Luk 2:39

So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.

Luk 2:40

And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, [fn] filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Luk 2:41

His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.

Luk 2:42

And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast.

Luk 2:43

When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother [fn] did not know it;

Luk 2:44

but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

Luk 2:45

So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.

Luk 2:46

Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.

Luk 2:47

And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.

Luk 2:48

So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”

Luk 2:49

And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

Luk 2:50

But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

Luk 2:51

Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.

Luk 2:52

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

2. Redeem the time.

1Ch 17:21

“And who is like Your people Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people—to make for Yourself a name by great and awesome deeds, by driving out nations from before Your people whom You redeemed from Egypt?

Job 33:28

He will redeem his [fn] soul from going down to the Pit,
And his [fn] life shall see the light.

Psa 49:15

But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave,
For He shall receive me. Selah

Psa 119:134

Redeem me from the oppression of man,
That I may keep Your precepts.

Jer 15:21

“I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”

Gal 4:3

Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.

Gal 4:4

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born [fn] of a woman, born under the law,

Gal 4:5

to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Gal 4:6

And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

Gal 4:7

Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of [fn] God through Christ.

Eph 5:8

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

Eph 5:9

(for the fruit of the Spirit [fn] is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),

Eph 5:10

finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

Eph 5:11

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

Eph 5:12

For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.

Eph 5:13

But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.

Eph 5:14

Therefore He says:

“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”

Eph 5:15

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,

Eph 5:16

redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Eph 5:17

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Eph 5:18

And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

Eph 5:19

speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

Eph 5:20

giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

For news that you won’t typically find via the MSM, one good source is Shoebat.com. The following article link reveals information that probably won’t be revealed on TV because of cries from the liberal leftist progressives who cry “Islamophobia!” about any mention of even suspected Muslim terrorist jihadist crimes being inflicted around the world.

You can research the owner of that blog, but briefly – Walid Shoebat is a former Muslim terrorist turned born-again Christian. One of his goals is to inform, educate, and especially WARN Americans and people around the world about the goals of Islamic jihad and how their methods of “Taqiyya” (basically means lie in any situation to get their way), instilling and forcing Sharia Law, and using any and all methods of terrorism (suicide bombings, plane hijackings, beheadings, rapes, murders…etc.) are being utilized in order to create a Muslim Caliphate across the world.

Call me an Islamophobe, but when I research the pilot from the missing flight QZ8501 Captain Iriyanto I access the local news in Indonesian, not in English. There I find out that the pilot of the missing flight QZ8501 and like the pilot on the other missing flight MH370 are both devout Muslims, I get somewhat paranoid. Translating from Indonesian I find the following:

“Iriyanto was also active in the community as a board member and chairman of the mosque at his residence in Pondok Jati Block BC 12 Village Pagerwojo, Buduran, Sidoarjo.”

“In addition to serving as Chairman of RT 39, Iriyanto also served as a board leader of Masjid Nurul Yaqin, which is located in the housing complex.”

“He was also diligent in worship. When everyone was at home, he would certainly be seen praying in congregation in the mosque”.

From Indonesian sources I also find out that “Before Iriyanto applied for early retirement and became a commercial airline pilot he had been a pilot in the Air Force who served in the squadron Iswahyudi Airport, Madiun, East Java flying fighter Hawk MK 50 and F-5.”

Iriyanato “performed operational tasks from 1983 up until 1992″. It was such fighter jets from Indonesia that were used over East Timor and were operational till September of 1999 killing some 200,000 mostly Christian Timorese out of a total population of 600,000 which has been winked at by western powers and today western media said nothing about this pilot’s involvements?

Zaharie Ahmad Shah the captain of the other missing flight MH370 had his co-pilot also another Muslim Faruq Abdul Hamid, 27. Now I become triply somewhat paranoid.

Being just paranoid and pilots just being very devout Muslims is not 100% conclusive evidence, but when one adds the scenarios of past history it changes things.

The Old Testament contains hints and whispers of a coming Redeemer, a Redeemer called by many different names. On Truth For Life, Alistair Begg explains the titles given to Christ by the prophet Isaiah.

Isa 9:6
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isa 9:7
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

These are just two examples of how intellectually, politically, and morally bankrupt that the ideology of liberalism/progressivism truly is – especially when it comes to their unbelievable support for communist dictators and their brutal regimes!

Does it make you wonder what in hell this BADministration is thinking? No surprise, really. We have been suffering under this oligarchy for six years now – why should ANYTHING surprise us anymore?

The question is, just what motivates these people??

I may have found some answers to that question.

While perusing the Word Press reader, I ran across an article that definitely caught my eye. It asks a particular question that I think many Bible-believing followers of Jesus Christ would like answered.

The portion of the article that I would like to focus on is included in the following excerpts. I have included some commentary of my own.

The author mentions how several liberal/progressive publications are all in trouble due to the fact that readership is down. He also lists several flip-flops made, and how such flip-flops become automatically accepted by Democrats who live in the liberal/progressive mindset! As the author so accurately describes it, they are like “lemmings – all in lock step, without embarrassment or regret.”

The author continues:

So this is a good time to ask: What does the Democratic Party stand for? And if the answer is: liberalism, what does it mean to be a liberal? Or if you prefer, what does it mean to be a progressive?

You would think that liberalism is a belief in a set of public policy ideas. But as it turns out, those ideas are hard to pin down.

I grew up in New Jersey. My parents were staunch Democrats who deeply admired John F. Kennedy. My dad was an artist and created a beautiful ink sketch portrait of Kennedy from a popular photograph of him during that era in the 1960’s.

I can recall going to the Democratic picnics that were held in our town during election time. You would think that everyone was a democrat! There was a wooden grandstand and dancing floor, a band played all afternoon, and hot dogs, hamburgers, corn on the cob, and other tasty fare were sold to attendees. It was the summer of 1961, and I was 6 years old. The adults had signs and hats, showing their support for Kennedy to be elected as President of the United States. American flags were everywhere, and many WWII veterans wore their uniforms and metals with pride! This was The Greatest Generation who fought hard and won the battles against Nazism and Imperial Japan’s totalitarianism.

As I grew up and saw how liberalism/progressivism of the 1960’s and on through the years had subsequently destroyed the original ideology of the Democratic party, I embraced the Republican party. Voting for the greatest president in modern history – Ronald Reagan – and seeing his accomplishments was one of the highlights of my political life. When Clinton became president, the slide downward into progressivism made my husband and I groan with disgust, but that was nothing compared to what Barack Obama has done over the past 6 years! I continue to ask for God’s mercy and grace so that we can get through the next 2 years, and then hopefully get a conservative candidate into office in 2017 who will start the recovery of America from the damage that Obama and his cronies have done. My dad, who died in 1995, would have been absolutely horrified by what Obama has done to destroy this nation! He would have seen today’s Democrat party as unrecognizable.

Back to the article:

How do we explain all this? In What Is A Progressive? I proposed part of the answer: liberalism is sociology rather than an ideology. The same can be said of conservatism.

But what kind of sociologies are they? Years ago, David Henderson suggested that think tanks and others involved in the war of ideas are actually in the “market for excuses.” That is, politicians need intellectual justification for things they want to do for non-intellectual reasons.

When I looked up “ideology,” there are glaringly negative definitions listed within the definition of that term. Therefore, it does fit in describing the “intellectual bankruptcy” of liberalism/progressivism.

noun, plural ideologies.
1.

the body of doctrine, myth, belief, etc., that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group.
2.

such a body of doctrine, myth, etc., with reference to some political and social plan, as that of fascism, along with the devices for putting it into operation.
3.

Philosophy. a.the study of the nature and origin of ideas.
b.a system that derives ideas exclusively from sensation.
4.

theorizing of a visionary or impractical nature

However, the British definition places a positive influence towards the term and also fits well in the discussion here:

2.

(philosophy, sociol) the set of beliefs by which a group or society orders reality so as to render it intelligible

The systematic study of human society, especially present-day societies. Sociologists study the organization, institutions, and development of societies, with a particular interest in identifying causes of the changing relationships among individuals and groups. ( See social science.)

So, the author claims that “liberalism is sociology rather than ideology.” I think that it has to be a combination of both. The adherence to liberalism/progressivism, despite its obvious flaws is like a religion to those who hold such views. Why? Because they are so deeply rooted in their ideology that the thought of steering away from their ideological religion is anathema to them! The liberals/progressives that I know (and there aren’t many) will hold onto their beliefs no matter how many lies, inconsistencies, flip-flops, hatred, evil, sin, and death come about as a result of the intellectual bankruptcy of such beliefs.

For example. A teacher once told me that when he revealed that he had voted for Obama – twice – half of the class groaned and the other half cheered. One of the parents of the group of students that groaned confronted him about his vote. She was angry and wondered how a teacher in a Catholic school could ever vote for someone who is so pro-abortion that he (Obama) thinks it’s OK to let a child born – as the result of a botched abortion – lay on a steel, cold, table and be left to die? [See the Born Alive Infants Protection Act]. Do you know what the teacher stated in reply to her? The Bible says to “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s.” Sorry folks…that’s taking Scripture completely out of context!! Jesus made that particular statement in answer to a question regarding the coins (and whose face was on them) in question and for the purpose of giving money for taxes – it wasn’t about social issues! Twisting the meaning of Scripture is a lie – and often done to attempt to prove one’s point of view. Doing so is one example of “intellectual justification for things one wants to do (or believe) for non-intellectual reasons.”

Continuing on:

But ideology doesn’t dominate. In fact, it gets in the way. What is needed are ways of thinking that are not necessarily coherent, but provide intellectual excuses for the sets of policy positions that emerge.

The author lumps in conservatism with liberalism here, but many conservatives also happen to be Bible-based Christians. Therefore, utilizing God’s Word (not our own!!) to present coherent, intellectual reasons for policy positions differs from the liberal/progressive sociological excuses often used to push their agenda.

Continuing:

The problem for Democrats is that the party is increasingly ruled by the “new oligarchs.” In his review of The New Class Conflict, by Joel Kotkin, a lifelong Democrat, George Will explains that there is a:

growing alliance between the ultra-wealthy and the instruments of state power. In 2012, Barack Obama carried eight of America’s 10 wealthiest counties.

Unfortunately for party harmony, the oligarchs are basically anti-job creation and anti-economic growth – which they see both as a threat to the environment and a threat to their life style. This puts them squarely at odds with the working class voters who used to be the backbone of the Democratic Party.

As I explained in “How Liberals Live,” once the plutocrats settle in a community like Boulder, Colorado or Portland, Oregon, they become fiercely anti-development and doggedly determined to shape their community in ways that price the middle class out of the housing market. As a result, wherever wealthy liberals tend to congregate, housing is more expensive and there is more inequality. Again from Will:

In New York, an incubator of progressivism, Kotkin reports, the “wealthiest one percent earn a third of the entire city’s personal income — almost twice the proportion for the rest of the country.” California, a one-party laboratory for progressivism, is home to 111 billionaires and the nation’s highest poverty rate (adjusted for the cost of living)….

California is no longer a destination for what Kotkin calls “aspirational families:” In 2013, he says, Houston had more housing starts than all of California.

The bolded paragraph describes exactly what I have seen regarding the change of the “backbone of the Democratic Party” from the 1960’s versus today’s oligarchy that is deeply harming all Americans – especially the working class!

The following are some of the comments posted after the article. Many of them hit the nail on the head when it comes to explaining exactly why “liberalism/progressivism” is bad for our nation and why it is politically and morally bankrupt.

Rondoman Wrote: Dec 20, 2014 11:07 PM

The one defining moment when a liberal is no longer able to be enlightened is when he accepts abortion as an acceptable option. It destroys his sense of humanity, brainwashes him, and makes him open to programming. It is not something that needs to be learned; it is the natural result of a mind that refuses to put compassion and reason above personal inflated self-worth. All liberalism degenerates to communism. Given enough time, the whole world would become sadistic, masochistic, cannibals. It is an insane march into the recesses of hell that has no bottom.

Proverbs 18:2 – A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.

Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Finally, it must really be embarrassing when you have to get most of the media to walk in lock step in reporting (excluding) the news so you don’t look like an idiot.

Neal from PA Wrote: Dec 20, 2014 10:02 PM

Democrats will face the truth about their changing the rules in the middle of the game to benefit them and will protest loudly. They and the MSM have only themselves to blame.

We the people have finally realized that what democrats, progressive liberals and the uninformed offer is not freedom; and what republicans offer isn’t much better.

“What Democrats now need is a new type of liberalism; one that apologizes for and defends the new Democratic Party reality. That’s a tall order.”

A tall order indeed…since when has a liberal ever apologized for anything? The new Democratic Party cannot defend reality, because liberals have no idea what reality “IS”.

Of course Republicans aren’t much better; they think they know what reality “IS” and it scares them to the point they forget just what it “IS” they stand for.

“Political Correctness”…is all both know how to do and they don’t do that very well.

America is in deep, deep trouble and it will take “We the People” to straighten this mess out, not politicians playing politics. However, my concern is that “We the People” are not up to the task; maybe someday, but not today.

GOD help us!

Winston8292 Wrote: Dec 20, 2014 2:24 PM

And so the modern Democrat party becomes the fascist party. Not yet in the mold of brown shirts of Germany but definitely like the black shirts of Italy. Obama, their “leader”, actually an empty vessel an[d] a poser, becomes modern Duce.
Blacks and aggressive unions are the party storm troops, extremely violent, anti-almost everything that we consider American values; anti-white; anti-Semites; anti-business.
The main media are the party ideological supporter. The Hollywood is the Party propaganda machine. Schools and colleges are producing future liberal fascists in huge numbers…
Against them all stand weak Republican party, 50% supporting Democrat policies and another 50% trembling of fear of being called names.
You can easily guess the future of this unstable superpower.

Mary218 Wrote: Dec 20, 2014 5:27 PM

As Gaidar documented in “Collapse of an Empire”, after Stalin died, the Kremlin stopped torturing and imprisoning dissenters. He stated communism cannot exist without terror held over the people’s heads. Progressivism is just a slower path to the same ends. The collapse of the USSR allowed its fellow travelers in the US to come out of the woodwork and into the top ranks of politics, academia and media.

jd6892000 Wrote: Dec 20, 2014 1:51 PM

Liberal progressives, as they are today, are not intellectual at all. They believe they are the intellectual superior of everyone else, yet consistently say and do things that prove the exact opposite. They also have little or no concept of right and wrong, not caring who gets hurt on the way to achieving whatever goals they set. Goals that are generally vague and unachievable. They are smart enough to know that they have to rely on complete opacity and subterfuge to get people to go along with their schemes because they can’t rely on logic or facts, none of which they possess.

Stam Wrote: Dec 20, 2014 10:47 AM

Is Liberalism Intellectually Bankrupt?

The title of your article, Mr. Goodman, is obviously a rhetorical question, because the answer is so blindingly obvious, although you spend several paragraphs trying to answer it.

Liberalism is characterized by folks who want to live in a world of fluffy, white clouds, rainbows and dancing unicorns as opposed to the real world that exists. Their religion – liberalism – is, of course, morally and intellectually bankrupt because they have no real idea how to bring about their dream world – and they ignore the reality of the simple fact that for their religion to ever have a chance to work they would have to eliminate a good percentage of the earth’s current population. Their religion is morally and intellectually bankrupt because in some vain effort to bring about their ‘utopia’ liberals have no compunction about employing any and every action no matter now morally and intellectually repugnant such as lying, cheating, stealing, increasing government dependence – actually a form of slavery, denying education to masses etc., all actions which should not be able to exist in their Utopian dream world. Liberalism is morally and intellectually bankrupt as it cannot possibly withstand any scrutiny that includes anything like application of truth, logic and, you know, the true, honest facts of any situation. Which, of course, is why liberals cannot argue or debate honestly and, in case you haven’t noticed their only way to ‘fight back’ against the truth and the facts is to resort to the childish, playground antics of covering their ears and calling any opponent vile names.

Now, the religion of religion itself also cannot withstand any application of ‘facts’ but, at least, it condemns all the actions employed by liberalism i.e. the aforementioned lying and cheating etc. Which, of course, is why liberalism doesn’t like religion and declared war on it. It is a competing ‘religion’ and liberalism also cannot stand up against any competition. As evidenced by side by side states, one that has given itself over to the religion of liberalism. The state beside it, rejecting liberalism, will always be doing better by a measurable metric.

Ronald Reagan Fan Wrote: Dec 20, 2014 10:47 AM

Being a liberal or progressive means:
Being racist, using abortion to commit genocide against African Americans and other people of color, supporting Islam and its rape and murder of women, Islam’s sexual molestation of children, violent oppression of Christians, legalizing Islam, raising taxes on workers and poor people and giving the money to wealthy government bureaucrats.
Being liberal means not being compassionate, not caring about people, being greedy and selfish.
That’s what it means to be a liberal or progressive

There are many wonderful Bible verses that speak of Jesus Christ and His birth on earth (the Incarnation). With so many favorites, it is difficult to just choose a few for this post.

I must start with Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming Messiah, which was written in the Old Testament hundreds of years before Christ’s birth in Bethlehem.

Isa 9:6

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

What is so fascinating is the fact that Isaiah also writes of Christ’s return in the very next verse!

Isa 9:7

Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Isaiah was talking about what Christ’s rule will be like during the Millennium!

The next verse, from the New Testament describes the fact that the Word of God became flesh in Christ Jesus! The Bible is often described as The Word of God. Jesus is often described as The Living Word. Note how John describes Him:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14

Grace and Truth. That is who Jesus is for all who put their faith and trust in Him!

In an upcoming devotional [for Monday, December 22, 2014], Dr. David Jeremiah describes how Jesus fulfilled the will of His Father and how He trusted in God’s will for His life.

HT: emily1.com

A man-on-the-street poll to determine the most important event in world History would reveal a variety of answers. But for Christians, the answer is clear: the coming of God to earth. To consider the importance of that event is to invite wonder and awe. And there is no shortage of ways to consider its importance for us.

For example, Christ lived in complete dependence on His Father and trusted in God’s will for His life (John 4:34, 5:30; 6:38; 8:28, 42). And even though He was tempted (Matthew 4:1-11) and at times suffered (Hebrews 5:8), He never questioned His experiences; He was always confident that the Father’s will for His life was perfect and His to obey. Christ proceeded from the Godhead to earth, bringing the will of God with Him. He was the will of God–and He never faltered. Now, the apostle Paul says, all who believe in Christ are in Him (Colossians 2:9-10). Therefore, as Christ fulfilled, and continues to fulfill, the will of God, so do we who live in Him by faith.

If you are a Christian, trust today that, in Christ, your life is secure in the purposes and plans of God.

So beautiful!

Scriptures included in the devotional:

Jhn 4:34

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.

Jhn 5:30

“I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

Jhn 6:38

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

Jhn 8:28

Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.

Jhn 8:42

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.

Mat 4:1

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Mat 4:2

And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.

Mat 4:3

Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

Mat 4:4

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” [fn]

Mat 4:5

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,

Mat 4:6

and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’
and,

‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” [fn]

Mat 4:7

Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ ” [fn]

Mat 4:8

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

Mat 4:9

And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Mat 4:10

Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, [fn] Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” [fn]

Mat 4:11

Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Heb 5:8

though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

Heb 5:9

And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,

Col 2:9

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

Col 2:10

and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

The Blaze website has an article up regarding a rock found in Israel. It is currently on display at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art which offers, according to archaeology experts, new evidence supporting the Bible’s description of the rule of King David.

Once again, the truth of Biblical history has yet another archaeological find to support what is written! Well, the ultimate Expert is God Himself – Who is the One who carried along the prophets and writers of each book of the Bible, in order to reveal Himself, His Son, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and the way to salvation and eternal life. [For more about the Trinity, please see my previous post where the discussion in the post and comment section leads to Scriptural and Creation’s evidence of the Triune nature of God.]

An extraordinary inscription from Israel referencing the Davidic dynasty is currently on display in New York. Written only about 150 years after King David would have reigned, the inscription is dated to c. 830 B.C.E. The inscription hails from Tel Dan in northern Israel and commemorates the conquests of Hazael, king of Aram-Damascus, enemy of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Hazael claims to have killed both Jehoram, king of Israel, and Ahaziahu, king of “the House of David”—or Judah. That the nation of Judah is referred to as the “House of David” is significant because it is the only archaeological evidence of a historical David—a belief that had been hotly debated prior to this discovery—thus substantiating part of the Biblical narrative.

Several readers, friends, and family members already know that I admit to being “techie” challenged. It is one of the reasons why I don’t want to switch my old dashboard here to the new and improved one being offered by WordPress.com. The same goes for my cell phone.

I had an old flip phone for 8 years. The guys at Verizon told me it was a classic. Yep…keeping a cell phone more than 2 years is unheard of these days! But when my husband wanted to get me a good birthday present, I finally decided to upgrade to the iPhone 4s. This was a few years ago, but I was good to go for another 5 years! Well, that phone started acting weird a few weeks ago. At first, I wasn’t getting the traditional beep when I was getting a text message. Then, I couldn’t hear my phone ringing – even when the volume was up high. Callers later told me that their calls were automatically going immediately to voicemail. A day or two later, I was getting a blank screen with some lines across it whenever I tried to retrieve my email. I had to face the truth – my phone was probably dead.

Well, my daughter said to me via an email, “Mom – you can’t be without a cell phone! Go get a new one!” I must admit, it was weird not to have a cell phone to check over the previous few days. It’s kind of true that after all these years, it had become attached to me – either at the hip when in my pocket or when it was right under my arm in my purse!

Fortunately, my husband bought the new giant iPhone 7…(or is it 8? I can’t keep track) so he gave me his “old” iPhone 5s to use in case my 4s wasn’t fixable. I wasn’t interested in the big phone that he had just purchased. I need a slim, small one that fits in the back pocket of my jeans.

On the advice of my husband, I took my phone to the nearest Apple store to see if it could be saved. I sat at the “Genius” table, and one by one, two nice technicians came over, asking me questions. I told them about the problems I was having, and they asked me if I had backed up my phone on I Cloud. I said I wasn’t sure, but I think that my husband backed it up for me once – several years ago! Oh great…I thought. Here comes bad news. Well, they had to empty the phone of its contents in order to see if it could be saved, and unfortunately, they found that it couldn’t be saved. My iPhone 4s was officially dead.

I recalled that my husband sometimes mentioned to me that I needed to go to the iTunes site and back up my phone through I Cloud…but what busy woman has time for that? Anyway, the Apple technicians tried to help me access the site that my husband set up, but they said that there wasn’t any content there for my phone! I was SO SAD because this probably meant that I had lost everything that was on my phone – including hundreds of photos in two albums! *sigh* Lesson learned… 😦

The nice man at Apple told me that I could go over to the Verizon kiosk right there in the same mall. He told me that I would need to purchase a $10.00 SIM card and have them transfer my number to the iPhone 5s.

Well, long story short is that I happened to get a newbie guy at the kiosk who took 1 1/2 hours trying to do the transfer! I should have known I was in trouble when he started chatting with me and mentioned that he would rather be working at Nordstrom! He was a young guy – probably in his mid twenties. To pass the time (as he fumbled with the transfer), he kept asking if the photo on my husband’s former iPhone 5s was of my daughter being walked down the aisle at her wedding …or was it actually me with my husband? I was thinking…That doesn’t even make any sense! Nice try bud…however, I finally had to advise him that after 3 such compliments, FIRST magazine says that a person starts suspecting that they really aren’t genuine. Ha hah!

Next, a guy who was supposed to be the manager at the kiosk came over and tried to solve the problem. Even he was having difficulty! I asked to use their landline to call my husband and tell him what was going on. The newbie guy dialed the number and handed me the receiver. My husband told me to just buy a new phone! I said no…his former iPhone is perfectly good! These guys just need to find out what the problem is!

After about another 15 minutes, I recalled what the guy in the Apple store told me – “you need to buy a new SIM card.” Guess what? That’s what I told the guys at the Verizon kiosk and voila’!…the transfer FINALLY went through! Now…why didn’t I tell them that the moment I sat down at that kiosk? I had the answer all along – but didn’t share it with them. I figured that they must know a LOT more than I do about such things and maybe the SIM card is reusable? Answer:NO! Not when you are attempting to transfer another number to a used iPhone!

Another lesson learned.

Oh, but the good news is that some of my photos were savedbecause apparently, they were being automatically uploaded to the I Cloud! My husband was able to retrieve them from the I Cloud that he set up on my home computer a while back.

Some of the photos I had were lost. The great photos that friends and family members had sent to me (including ones of our daughter’s wedding in April) were all missing. Hopefully, I can ask to have them resent to me. This time, I will be sure to back them up on my computer!

My original title for this particular post was going to be, “Insane Reason For Beheading Americans.” But after reading what one commenter called “the bottom line,” I decided to use that very accurate sentence as the title here.

I know. This isn’t an uplifting, happy, or encouraging topic. When I mentioned what I had learned in one particular comment from the article link below to my son last evening, he asked, “are you really going to put that on your blog?” I said yes. Why? Because I had personally learned some new information regarding additional reasons for radical Islam’s evil, horrific, and barbaric practices.

Nothing really new in it because terrorism is a tactic used for fear and propaganda purposes. But when the Islamic preacher being interviewed stated that “ISIS beheads ‘to save American lives'” we must ask what kind of crazy, convoluted quote is that?

Something more caught my attention in the comment section that I wasn’t aware of in the Muslim world. The practice of Muslim inbreeding.

To save readers from needing to scroll through over 500 comments to find the one I’m referring to, here is a copy:

Upaces • a day ago

​​​
​​This came from a Lockheed pilot who has had 3 assignments to Saudi Arabia.
During the pilot transition program with the KV-107 and C-130 with Lockheed, we found that most Saudi pilot trainees had very limited night vision, even on the brightest of moon lit nights. Their training retention rate was minimal including maintenance personnel.

Some had dim memories and had to be constantly reminded of things that were told to them the day before. Needless to say, an American, British or any other western instructor gets burned out pretty quick. It actually took Muslim C-130 pilots years before they could fly in the dark safely and then would be reluctant to leave the lights of a city. Ask any Marine, Air Force or Army guy who’s been trying to train Iraqis, and especially Afghans. They will say, “Yep, dumber than homemade dodo”.
Islam is not only a religion, it’s a way of life all the way around. Yet another set of revealing facts about Muslim beliefs and traditions and ways of life.

1400 years of inbreeding.

I found this to be interesting. Didn’t know whether to believe it or not. To research I went to Wikipedia, “Cousin Marriage”, and far down in the article “Genetics”, it seems there is a lot of truth here.

A huge Muslim problem: Inbreeding

Nikolai Sennels is a Danish psychologist who has done extensive research into a little-known problem in the Muslim world: the disastrous results of Muslim inbreeding brought about by the marriage of first-cousins.

This practice, which has been prohibited in the Judeo-Christian tradition since the days of Moses, was sanctioned by Muhammad and has been going on now for 50 generations (1,400 years) in the Muslim world.
This practice of inbreeding will never go away in the Muslim world, since Muhammad is the ultimate example and authority on all matters, including marriage.

The massive inbreeding in Muslim culture may well have done virtually irreversible damage to the Muslim gene pool, including extensive damage to its intelligence, sanity, and health.

According to Sennels, close to half of all Muslims in the world are inbred. In Pakistan, the numbers approach 70%. Even in England, more than half of Pakistani immigrants are married to their first cousins, and in Denmark the number of inbred Pakistani immigrants is around 40%.

The numbers are equally devastating in other important Muslim countries: 67% in Saudi Arabia, 64% in Jordan, and Kuwait, 63% in Sudan, 60% in Iraq, and 54% in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
According to the BBC, this Pakistani, Muslim-inspired inbreeding is thought to explain the probability that a British Pakistani family is more than 13 times as likely to have children with recessive genetic disorders. While Pakistanis are responsible for three percent of the births in the UK, they account for 33% of children with genetic birth defects.

The risks of what are called autosomal recessive disorders such as cystic fibrosis and spinal muscular atrophy is 18 times higher and the risk of death due to malformations is 10 times higher.
Other negative consequences of inbreeding include a 100 percent increase in the risk of still births and a 50% increase in the possibility that a child will die during labor.

Lowered intellectual capacity is another devastating consequence of Muslim marriage patterns. According to Sennels, research shows that children of consanguineous marriages lose 10-16 points off their IQ and that social abilities develop much slower in inbred babies. The risk of having an IQ lower than 70, the official demarcation for being classified as “retarded,” increases by an astonishing 400 percent among children of cousin marriages. (Similar effects were seen in the Pharaonic dynasties in ancient Egypt and in the British royal family, where inbreeding was the norm for a significant period of time.)

In Denmark, non-Western immigrants are more than 300 percent more likely to fail the intelligence test required for entrance into the Danish army.

Sennels says that “the ability to enjoy and produce knowledge and abstract thinking is simply lower in the Islamic world.” He points out that the Arab world translates just 330 books every year, about 20% of what Greece alone does.

In the last 1,200 years of Islam, just 100,000 books have been translated into Arabic, about what Spain does in a single year. Seven out of 10 Turks have never even read a book.

Sennels points out the difficulties this creates for Muslims seeking to succeed in the West. “A lower IQ, together with a religion that denounces critical thinking, surely makes it harder for many Muslims to have success in our high-tech knowledge societies.”

Only nine Muslims have ever won the Nobel Prize, and five of those were for the “Peace Prize.” According to Nature magazine, Muslim countries produce just 10 percent of the world average when it comes to scientific research measured by articles per million inhabitants.

In Denmark, Sennels’ native country, Muslim children are grossly over represented among children with special needs. One-third of the budget for Danish schools is consumed by special education, and anywhere from 51% to 70% of retarded children with physical handicaps in Copenhagen have an immigrant background. Learning ability is severely affected as well. Studies indicated that 64% of school children with Arabic parents are still illiterate after 10 years in the Danish school system. The immigrant drop-out rate in Danish high schools is twice that of the native-born.

Mental illness is also a product. The closer the blood relative, the higher the risk of schizophrenic illness. The increased risk of insanity may explain why more than 40% of patients in Denmark’s biggest ward for clinically insane criminals have an immigrant background.

The U.S. is not immune. According to Sennels, “One study based on 300,000 Americans shows that the majority of Muslims in the USA have a lower income, are less educated, and have worse jobs than the population as a whole.”

Sennels concludes: There is no doubt that the wide-spread tradition of first cousin marriages among Muslims has harmed the gene pool among Muslims. Because Muslims’ religious beliefs prohibit marrying non-Muslims and thus prevents them from adding fresh genetic material to their population, the genetic damage done to their gene pool since their prophet allowed first cousin marriages 1,400 years ago are most likely massive. This has produced overwhelming direct and indirect human and societal consequences.
Bottom line: Islam is not simply a benign and morally equivalent alternative to the Judeo-Christian tradition. As Sennels points out, the first and biggest victims of Islam are Muslims. Simple Judeo-Christian compassion for Muslims and a common-sense desire to protect Western civilization from the ravages of Islam dictate a vigorous opposition to the spread of this dark and dangerous religion. These stark realities must be taken into account when we establish public polices dealing with immigration from Muslim countries and the building of mosques in the U.S.

There are always very good reasons why certain sexual practices are prohibited by God’s Word – The Bible. This is one huge example of why what is taught in the Old Testament, and reiterated in the New Testament, should be heeded!

This practice [of inbreeding], which has been prohibited in the Judeo-Christian tradition since the days of Moses [see Leviticus 18,] was sanctioned by Muhammad and has been going on now for 50 generations (1,400 years) in the Muslim world.

The following Live Leak page asks that readers confirm that they are 18 years old or over in order to view the photos. You would need to turn off the “safe mode” to view. Therefore, I didn’t view them. Enter at your own risk…

Over the past 20 years or so, I have had at least 10 encounters with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Two nice women came to my door a few days ago and I “cut to the chase” immediately with them regarding their rejection of the Trinity and their false labeling of Jesus as “another god.”

I encouraged them to study the Bible on their own too, but they claim that they already have. One was a former Catholic, the other claimed to be a former “Christian” who “discovered” that the belief in the Trinity was not true. I challenged them with Scripture where Jesus says that we should go into all the world spreading the Gospel, baptizing them in the NAME of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Mat 28:19

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Mat 28:20

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

I stated that the term “name” in the verse was used in the singular – and thus our God self-identifies as being triune in nature. The older woman claimed that if what I was saying was true, then the Scripture would have read, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, the name of the Son, and the name of the Holy Spirit. This was a ridiculous claim – on her part – but it just shows how deeply indoctrinated they are. I also said that Jesus claimed, “I and the Father are one.” She replied that he meant it as meaning that they are “one in agreement.”

Finally, I shared that our God had created a world in which we see the Trinity all around us, mentioning how we see it in the Bible, and in physics – especially regarding time and space.

At that point, they decided to depart, but wanted to leave their literature with me. I said, “no thank you, but please consider the possibility that what you are being taught could be wrong – then investigate for yourselves.”

Next time, I plan to be better prepared with a copy of “God in Three Persons” printed out so that I can hand it to them as they leave my door.

For convenience sake and future reference here at my Word Press Talk Wisdom blog, I include the relevant portion of the post below:

“The first few pages of the booklet discusses various Biblical references to the “God in Three Persons” nature of God. I can post this later if anyone here is interested. For now, I will just share a few brief points:

1. The first verse of the Bible we read, “In the beginning God [Elohim] created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). In Hebrew the word for “God” is Elohim. That word is plural. El is singular, but Elohim is plural. We know it is plural because it contains within it the personalities of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

2. We also read where God said, “Let us make man in our image….and in the image of God created he him”…in his own image (Genesis 1:26-27). “Us,” “Our,” “His.” And so over and over again, even in the Old Testament, when God speaks, He goes back and forth between the singular and the plural, the plural to singular, because He is the singular-plural God.

3. The facts of the Triunity of God are clearly seen in these four facts within the Bible:* The Father is God, said thousands of times.* The Son is God, said hundreds and hundreds of times.* And the Holy Spirit is God (Spirit of God in OT) is said dozens of times.* Finally, there is but one God.

Back to the main reason for this post.

In Dr. D. James Kennedy’s booklet entitled “Understanding the Trinity; Evidence for God in Three Persons,” Dr. Kennedy describes that the universe itself explains the Trinity.

Dr. Nathan Wood, formerly president of Gordon College of Theology and Missions, wrote a magnificent book, The Secret of the Universe. In it he spells out for us the result of years of searching in the natural realm for some kind of analogy that was correct for the Trinity. He finally came up with the universe itself.

It is so simple.

It is right there in front of us.

We can never get away from it.

It is always there.

We ought to see it very clearly.

He points out that any man who manufactures anything or makes anything with his hands is going to inevitably leave his fingerprints upon it. If you were to create a table or chair or something in your workshop, it would contain your fingerprints.

Dr. Wood says that the universe is covered with fingerprints of the Trinity because it was made by the Triune God. The Bible says that the Father created the universe, the Son created the universe, and the Holy Spirit created the universe – the Triune God created the universe.

What does Dr. Wood mean by that?

Well, there are fingerprints everywhere. We just don’t see them.

I would suppose that there are literally millions of fingerprints in this very sanctuary. Did you see any today? Not a one. We are blind as a bat when it comes to fingerprints. We just don’t see them. First of all, we’re not looking for them. Now you might see them at home on a mirror or something like that, but ordinarily, we don’t see fingerprints. However, if a detective were to come in here and begin to dust the wood on the pew in front of you, he would find thousands of them. So let’s put on our Sherlock Holmes cap, get out our dusting brush, and see if we can see the fingerprints of Him who made all things.

What does the universe consist of?

If you were to ask a scientist, he would tell you it consists of space, time, and matter. Now amazing to tell, we find all of those three things everywhere in the universe – not that we have a universe where some of them exist sometimes and not at other times. It is also true that each of the triune parts of the universe is, in itself, triune.

SPACE

Let us look at each one of them. For example, consider space. What is space composed of? It is composed of length and breadth and height. Always. There is nothing you could name that is not composed of all three of those things. If you were to simply take a pencil and draw a line on a piece of paper, it would have length, it would have a little bit of width, and if you looked in a powerful microscope, you would discover it has quite a bit of height. You can’t see it with your naked eye; however, it’s always there.

Something that I think is amazing about this is that God always consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – not one or the other. It is not a piece of the pie; it’s the whole thing, always. Imagine a square block that a child would play with. Draw a picture of it in three dimensions. Then you could take that picture, and with a pencil and using all length, you could make a bunch of lines and fill in that entire block with nothing but length. I have done that sometimes in fancy lettering. Maybe some of you have as well. Or you could take the same block and make the whole thing out of width, or out of height. The fact of the matter is that it is all length, it’s all breadth, it’s all height all of the time. That’s a perfect illustration of the Trinity.

TIME

Or take the matter of time. Of what does time consist? Obviously, it consists of the past, the present, and the future – those three. Any time we have ever known in this universe always consists of those three. Usually we have the idea that we come out of the past, that that really is first, because that is where we came from. The fact of the matter is, time comes from the future, and we meet it head on.

For example, today, yesterday was called tomorrow, and now it’s today. A week ago it was called next week, and now it is today. A year ago, it was called next year. So as time approaches us and we move through it, that is what always happens. Anything is first in the future, then in the present, and then it disappears into the past. That is the way time always works. That in itself is an amazing story when you examine it carefully. Past, present, and future.

Dr. Nathan R. Wood gives a fascinating quote that is so remarkable I would like to share it with you. I would challenge you to try to see if you can follow his drift.

He is going to give a long paragraph. Then he is going to give it again, only this time he is simply going to change four words. These four words are “time,” “future,” “present,” and “past”. They are going to be changed into “God,” “Father,” “Son,” and “Holy Spirit.”

You are going to find out something some of you never knew before – that time, which you live by, which you look at constantly in the way of clocks you wind up every day, and which you make your lives run by, is an incredible illustration of the divine Trinity.

(Note: To make this paragraph easier to read, I will post it in a prose format).

Read carefully:

“The Future is the source.

The Future is unseen, unknown, except as it continually embodies itself and makes itself visible in the Present.

The Present is what we see, and hear, and know.

It is ceaselessly embodying the Future, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. It is perpetually revealing the Future, hitherto invisible.

The Future is logically first, but not chronologically.

For the Present exists as long as Time exists and was in the absolute beginning of Time.

The Present has existed as long as Time has existed.

Time acts through and in the Present.

It makes itself visible only in the Present.

The Future acts and reveals itself through the Present.

It is through the Present that Time, that the Future, enters into union with human life.

Time and humanity meet and unite in the Present.

It is the Present that Time, that the Future, becomes a part of human life, and so is born and lives and dies in human life.

The Past in turn comes from the Present.

We cannot say that it embodies the Present.

On the contrary, Time in issuing from the Present into the Past becomes invisible again.

The Past does not embody the Present. Rather it proceeds silently, endlessly, invisibly from it…

The Present therefore comes out from the invisible Future.

The Present perpetually and ever-newly embodies the Future in visible, audible, livable form; and returns again into invisible Time in the Past.

The Past acts invisibly.

It continually influences us with regard to the Present.

It casts light upon the Present.

That is its great function.

It helps us to live in the Present which we know, and with reference to the Future which we expect to see.

“That is an exact description of the way time operates. It is a perfect analogy. I’m using “analogy” not in the common sense of the word that something is like something or a simile or metaphor, but in the mathematical meaning of the word, which means it is an exact replica as far as every line, every angle, every corner is concerned.

SUBSTITUTE FOUR WORDS

Now let us replace the words. “Time” is replaced by “God”; the “Future” by the “Father”; the “Present” by the “Son”; and the “Past” by the “Holy Spirit” (every word the same but these four). You will see that perfect analogy and you will see the divine Trinity you have been swimming in all of your life!

“The Father is the source [every word the same, but those four].

The Father is unseen except as he continually embodies Himself and makes Himself visible in the Son.

The Son is what we see, and hear, and know.

He is ceaselessly embodying the Father, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment.

He is perpetually revealing the Father, hitherto invisible.

The Father is logically first, but not chronologically, For the Son exists as long as God exists, and was in the absolute beginning of God.

The Son has existed as long as God has existed.

God acts through and in the Son.

He makes Himself visible only in the Son.

The Father acts and reveals Himself through the Son.

It is through the Son that God, that the Father, enters into union with human life.

God and humanity meet and unite in the Son.

It is in the Son that God, that the Father, becomes a part of human life, and so is born and lives and dies in human life.

The Spirit in turn comes from the Son.

We cannot say that He embodies the Son.

On the contrary God, in issuing from the Son into the Spirit, becomes invisible again.

The Spirit does not embody the Son.

Rather He proceeds silently, endlessly, invisibly from Him…

The Son therefore comes out from the invisible Father.

The Son perpetually and ever-newly embodies the Father in visible, audible, livable form, and returns into invisible God in the Spirit.

The Spirit acts invisibly.

He continually influences us with regard to the Son.

He casts light upon the Son.

That is His great function.

He helps us to live in the Son whom we know and with reference to the Father whom we expect to see.”

That, my friends, is an exact mathematical analogy that each of the portions of the triunity of the universe are in themselves triune.”

Our Creator is so awesome!! He reveals Himself all around us….in the existence of the universe He created!

The Bible

Click on image for Blue Letter Bible

Proverbs 2:2-5

"Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the LORD, and discover the knowledge of God"

About Christinewjc and this Talk Wisdom blog.

Married for 31 years to my wonderful husband! Two grown adult children and a son-in-law in whom we treasure and enjoy life.

Our family is very close and love to spend time with each other. We share a deep Christian faith, love for the Lord Jesus Christ and love for each other.

I earned a BA in education from Kean University in 1978. I have been studying the Bible for over 22 years and in 2003, upon successful completion of the course of study offered in the MA Lecture Series, earned a Christian Apologetics Certificate from Biola University.

This blog is named "Talk Wisdom" because one of the main purposes of writing here is to share the wisdom of God - the only absolute and true wisdom - that is contained within the Scriptures of the Bible. As a born-again Christian, it is my desire to heed and share Paul's encouragement and warnings in 2 Timothy 3:1-17

2 Timothy 3:16 - All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
2 Timothy 3:17 - that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Talk Wisdom's goal is to defend the tenets and values of Biblical Christian faith. We defend our Constitutional Republic and Charters of Freedom, especially when speaking out against destructive social and political issues. As followers of our Savior and Lord, we should boldly stand up for Jesus Christ in our present circumstances. He is our Savior, Lord, and King, and His love needs to be shed abroad in our hearts and in our world – now.

A quote to remember!

“We are to be obedient to God and that means we are to fight against sin. Talking about not judging and loving each other does not absolve us from our duty to correct and — if necessary — censure those who refuse to obey God’s laws. If this were the case, then God would have had no reason to even give us a law: He would have just said do not judge, just love and left it at that — but He did not do this. Instead, He told us to obey, and then gave us at least ten commands. If we love each other — Biblical love — then we will do everything we can to help each other keep those commands, not make it easier to break them. After all, how can we claim to love someone if we are in the process of making their path to hell easier to travel?”
~ Black3Actual from Oil For Your Lamp blog

Talk Wisdom's goal is to defend the tenets and values of Biblical Christian faith. We defend our Constitutional Republic and Charters of Freedom, especially when speaking out against destructive social and political issues. As followers of our Savior and Lord, we should boldly stand up for Jesus Christ in our present circumstances. He is our Savior, Lord, and King, and His love needs to be shed abroad in our hearts and in our world - now.

Faith in Jesus Christ is our response to God's elective purpose in our life. These two truths--God's initiative and man's response--co-exist throughout the Bible. The gospel is "the message of truth" because truth is its predominant characteristic. Salvation was conceived by the God of truth (Ps. 31:5); purchased by the Son, who is the truth (John 14:6); and is applied by the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). To know it is to know the truth that sets men free (John 8:32). Believers are people of the truth (John 18:37), who worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), and who obey the Word of truth (John 17:17). People have rejected, neglected, redefined, and opposed God’s truth for centuries. Some cynically deny that truth even exists or that it can be known by men (John 18:38). Others foolishly think that denying truth will somehow make it go away. Truth determines the validity of one's belief. Believing a lie doesn't make it true. Conversely, failing to believe the truth doesn't make it a lie. The gospel is true because Jesus is true, not simply because Christians believe in Him. His resurrection proved the truth of His claims and constitutes the objective basis of our faith (Rom. 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:3). Truth is our protection and strength (Eph. 6:14). Throughout history, people have tried everything imaginable to gain favor with God. Most turn to religion, but religion apart from Christ is merely a satanic counterfeit of the truth. At the heart of every false religion is the notion that man can come to God by any means he chooses--by meditating, doing good deeds, and so on. But Scripture says, "There is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). That name is Jesus Christ, and we come to Him by confessing and repenting of our sin, trusting in His atoning death on the cross, and affirming His bodily resurrection from the grave (cf. Rom. 10:9-10). There is no other way to God. False religious leaders and teachers talk much about God’s love, but not His wrath and holiness; much about how deprived of good things people are, but not about their depravity; much about God’s universal fatherhood toward everyone, but not much about his unique fatherhood toward all who believe in His Son; much about what God wants to give to us, but nothing about the necessity of obedience to Him; much about health and happiness, but nothing about holiness and sacrifice. Their message is full of gaps, the greatest of which leaves out a biblical worldview of the saving gospel and replaces it with the worldview of postmodernism with its dominant ethical system of relativism. The Bible describes mankind in the end times: “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7). Spiritual answers cannot be deduced by human reason alone (1 Cor. 2:14). It’s not that spiritual truth is irrational or illogical, but that human wisdom is defective, because it’s tainted by man’s sinfulness, and unable to perceive the things of God. That is why the Bible is so important. It gives us the answers we can’t find on our own. It is God’s Word to mankind. Scripture is divinely revealed truth that fills the vacuum of spiritual ignorance in all of us. Post-truth is the word of the year for 2016 and also the philosophy of the day, According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. In a “post-truth” world, people make choices based on emotion and experience rather than objective fact. So in a post-truth world, truth is irrelevant. What exactly is a post-truth culture? It’s a culture where truth is no longer an objective reality. It has become subjective. It’s what’s true for me—my beliefs, my opinions, determine my truth. So in our post-truth culture, man determines truth. Man makes himself the ultimate authority. This starting point, which rejects God’s Word and the idea of moral absolutes, makes truth subjective. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Christianity is grounded in objective truth. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Objective truth exists because we have God’s Word. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Thy word is truth” (John 17:17), and Paul and James describe the Bible as “the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15; James 1:18). The Psalmist says, “The entirety of your word is truth” (Psalm 119:160). Jesus Himself said, “For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (John 18:37). When Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by me” (John 14:6), He wasn’t expressing His personal belief or opinion. He was speaking the truth, a fundamental reality that doesn’t change from person to person. It doesn’t matter if our culture thinks all roads lead to God. The truth of the matter is “no one comes to the Father but by [Jesus].” This blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." - George Orwell

"Our threat is from the insidious forces working from within which have already so drastically altered the character of our free institutions — those institutions we proudly called the American way of life. " -- Gen. Douglas MacArthur